


Let's Talk About Biology

by Tru_tru



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, F/M, High School, alpha!jughead, health class, omega!betty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:40:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26994577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tru_tru/pseuds/Tru_tru
Summary: The gang gets a refresher sex ed, just in time for Jughead and Betty to make some important realizations.
Relationships: Archie Andrews/Veronica Lodge, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 11
Kudos: 96





	Let's Talk About Biology

“Ugh…my brain needs a shower.” Kevin said as he leaned against the row of lockers. Betty said nothing as she pulled her books from her locker, but she threw him a sympathetic glance. “Whoever said ‘information is power’ clearly never had to sit through a high school health class.”

“That bad huh?”

“The worst of it was that I already knew everything Mr. Belmont was explaining- why even bother having a class about it when the Internet exists?”

“Hey, not all of us are as brave as you. And Miss Saunders seemed to know her stuff- she debunked a bunch of common misconceptions about bonded pairs and what happens when Omegas go into heat. Though I could have done without half the class giggling every five minutes.”

“I’d take giggles over tasteless knot jokes any day of the week.”

“Jeez- maybe your brain does need a shower.”

Betty closed her locker and the two started down the hallway.

“What I don’t get,” Betty continued, “Is why the school felt the need to put on the course for the Junior class- we were already taught the basics during Freshman Orientation.”

“I hear it’s because a bunch of incoming Juniors presented over the summer- like, way more than usual.”

Betty considered this. It made sense- the age range for presenting was pretty wide, from kids as young as 13 to adults in their mid-twenties. A hormone surge in the Junior class at Riverdale high was certainly a cause for concern, especially with the ‘pill free living’ trend on the rise among parents.

“Hey, you’re on meds, right?” She asked.

“Please- have you met my dad? He figured it out only a couple days after I did, and the minute he was sure we were in the car driving to the pharmacy. Most awkward car ride of my _life._ ”

He didn’t bother asking Betty if she was on suppressants too, because as far as he knew- as far as anyone knew- she hadn’t presented yet.

When her own symptoms had started early last summer, she had made two firm decisions:

1) She wasn’t going to let being an Omega define her life, and

2) She was going to put off telling her mother for as long as humanly possible.

Alpha Alice Cooper had many very firm, very outdated conceptions about what being an Omega meant. Betty knew the minute Alice found out she would treat her daughter’s biology the same way she treated everything else she didn’t like about her- as a problem to be fixed.

With one deception already in place, it made sense to just keep the information private across the board. She bought her own suppressants, started wearing perfume just in case someone got close enough to smell when she was in heat, and avoided close proximity with Alphas as much as she could.

She had felt a little guilty about it at first, but she figured that until she found a mate, it really wasn’t anybody else’s business.

They reached the student lounged and found the rest of the gang already there, Veronica half in Archie’s lap and Jughead across from them looking sullen and uncomfortable. It was odd- Veronica and Archie had been PDA city ever since they had gotten together last year, and though Jughead did occasionally make jokes about how ‘whipped’ his friend was by his Alpha girlfriend, their relationship had never been a cause of _discomfort_ for him.

It had been a little upsetting for Betty of course- all her childhood dreams of Archie presenting as an Alpha and sweeping Betty off her feet went out the window. But Veronica was her best friend and Archie was her oldest friend- she didn’t have the heart to stay angry at either of them for too long.

She wasn’t the only one to notice Jughead’s dower expression.

“Woah, someone decided to bring in an extra storm cloud!” Kevin said as he and Betty took their usual seats. Jughead flinched a little at the comment.

“You ok Jug?” She asked, sincerely. 

“Fine.” He muttered, uncrossing his arms to rub the back of his neck. “Just didn’t sleep well.” 

After a moment’s pause, Veronica seized the opportunity to take control of the conversation.

“Betty dearest, I was totally zoning out towards the end of that lecture- Miss Saunders isn’t going to test us on any of that is she?”

“No, Vee, you’re good. She just wanted us to take notes so we’d remember the information.”

“Aw man, you’re lucky,” Archie said, “Mr. Belmont is making all of us write a paper on the presentation symptoms in men- at least a full page on each designation.”

“Well, studies say that guys often ignore their presentation symptoms if they don’t line up with what they _want_ their designation to be.” Betty reasoned. Suddenly Jughead’s eyes snapped to her.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. He didn’t mention that?”

“No, he did.” Kevin interjected. Jughead glared at him, then went back to rubbing his neck.

“I must have fallen asleep.” Kevin’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, but before he could say anything, Jughead was up, slinging his messenger back over his shoulder. “I’ll see you guys later. My dad’s holding a Serpent meeting later, I gotta be there.”

They all said goodbye as he hurried out the door. Kevin threw Betty a look that she didn’t quite understand, but then Veronica started talking about Homecoming and soon they were all swept up in discussions of outfit shopping and after-dance plans.

It wasn’t until later that night that Kevin texted her an explanation.

_Kevin: ten bucks says jughead presents in the next few days_

_Betty: What? Based on one night of bad sleep?_

_Kevin: no sleep, sore neck, and you should have seen him at lunch_

_he ate enough food for like, three people_

_Betty: But it’s Jughead- he always eats enough for three people._

_Kevin: trust me betty_

_jughead jones is going to be an alpha_

* * *

If Jughead had been thinking, he would have skipped school the next day. He knew what was happening- he had been expecting it. His father, his grandfather, his great-great grandfather had all been Alphas. Even his mother was an Alpha- one of the many reasons their marriage hadn’t lasted. You didn’t need a Punnett square to know the odds of him being anything _other_ than an Alpha were pretty damn low.

Except, he wasn’t thinking- not clearly anyway. But FP was too hung over to take him to the doctor’s, and over the counter suppressants were expensive as fuck.

He really, really, should have stayed home. A smart person would have stayed home. Apparently, despite good grades and a general love of learning, Jughead Jones was not a smart person.

Later he would blame his pride. He didn’t want to be defeated by his stupid hormones. And how bad could it be, really?

The answer? Pretty damn bad. His neck and teeth ached, his skin burned, and his newly heightened senses were so overwhelming he could barely focus. First period passed in a blur, but he slogged through it because he knew second period he shared with Archie.

Something in his got told him being around his friend would settle him- and he was right. As soon as the smiling redhead came into his radius, he felt calmer. Archie was always in a good mood, always ready to lend an ear or offer to help where he could. More than that, having a Beta friend nearby reminded the animal part of his brain that he wasn’t a lone wolf. He had an ally, and even one ally increased his chances of survival. He could relax.

He managed to take some brief notes about the industrial revolution, but the information he was writing about didn’t really stick. His mind was preoccupied categorizing the people around him according to scent- friends, foes, competitors, sexual prospects.

Even as it was happening it felt gross- these were people, they were more than their designation or level of attractiveness, but his wolf brain didn’t seem to care about that.

He made it to third period- his last before lunch- in relative peace, with Archie walking beside him right up until he was at the door of his next class.

“See ya later man.” Jughead nodded a goodbye to his friend and walked in. He took his usual seat near the back window and pulled out a notebook. He needed to collect his thoughts, and writing them out always helped. He’d barely put pen to paper before his nose was flooded with a sweet, appley fragrance that made his mouth water. He looked up to see Betty weaving her way through the desks toward him. She smiled, her eyes sparkling in the late-morning sun.

He knew Betty Cooper was beautiful. A blind man would know that Betty Cooper was beautiful. You could hear it in her voice- her kindness, her sincerity, her passion. She was perfect. So perfect it pissed him off sometimes, and made him wonder if she only tolerated him because they were both so close with Archie.

But today, she was smiling like she was genuinely glad to see him. This was the second year they’d ended up in the same English class, and it had always been weirdly fun. She’d made a game out of coaxing him out of his shell, playing Devil’s advocate just to get him mad enough to dispute her, exposing him for the closeted literature snob that he was. And when they weren’t playing some form of intellectual chess, they would sit back and listen to the truly moronic answers their classmates would give, basking in the glow of being the smartest people in the room.

“Hey Jug!” She said brightly as she took the desk next to his. “Feeling any better?” He stumbled for a reply. Her scent was everywhere, clouding his mind like a sugary fog. She was wearing a soft looking sweater and matching plaid skirt that revealed nearly half of her thigh. Suddenly his brain was overloading with images, possibilities- what the rest of her thigh looked like, what kind of underwear she had on, how easily he could push it aside and plunge his tongue inside her…

“Uh…Yeah.” He said, completely forgetting what her question had been. From the front of the classroom Mrs. Murphy called for their attention. He looked up to see the rest of their class had arrived without his knowledge.

While students took turns reading pages from The Great Gatsby, Jughead wrote furiously in his notebook.

_Shit shit shit get a hold of yourself you idiot. This is Betty Cooper, you can’t think of her that way. Don’t look at her, don’t smell her. Christ, what is even in that perfume? Maybe I can ask her to wash it off, say I’m having an allergic reaction or something. Reaction is certainly true._

He shifted, hoping his desk was doing enough to hide the semi he had been trying to mollify ever since Betty walked in.

 _Get a grip. She is your friend_ .

He underlined the word several times for emphasis, but the instinct that felt like it was clawing its way up his throat was saying something very different:

**take her take her take her you Need her you Want her sink your Teeth into her Neck fuck her hard make her Beg for your Knot**

_No, no, no, no!_

**yes yes yes yes take her she Belongs to you you Know she does**

He spent the next half hour like that, the opposing instincts warring in his chest all while his traitorous imagination turned his semi into a full on, painful erection. When he realized he had less than fifteen minutes before lunch, he knew he had to really get his shit together. He stopped breathing through his nose entirely, and although he kept writing he limited himself to the lyrics of ‘Sound of Silence’ over and over again.

If anyone looked through his notebook later, they would probably think he was certifiable. But it worked- somewhat, anyway. There was no way to stop his teeth from aching or to will his erection away completely, but by the time the bell rang he felt like he had regained a modicum of self-control.

Hungry students rushed out of the classroom- even Mrs. Murphy didn’t linger. Everyone had somewhere they’d rather be…with the exception of him and one Betty Cooper. _She_ was taking forever; he listened as she carefully capped her pen, closed her notebook and slowly returned all of her study materials to her backpack.

“You don’t have to wait for me.” He managed to say. “I’ll catch up in a sec.” He was still scribbling Paul Simon’s words into his notebook, like they were a story idea he had to get down before he forgot.

“Don’t be silly.” She said, “I don’t mind waiting.”

He squeezed his pencil so hard he felt it snap in his hand and made the treacherous mistake of looking up at her. Smelling her had been one thing, now he could see her too- her beautiful face, her shining lips, her eyes full of concern. He could feel his heartrate pick up as the urge to lunge at her filled his abdomen.

“Betty…” He looked straight into her eyes, not even bothering to hide the anguish he was in. “You need…to leave.”

Her head jerked a little; now she looked hurt, and the expression sent lightning bolts of agony through his chest.

**no no no don’t hurt her never hurt her Fix it Fix it**

“Betty…please…” He needed to move, to get away from her, but he didn’t trust his body to follow the directive. 

A long moment passed before she responded.

“Fine.” She was moving away from him at last. He kept his eyes on his notebook as she made her way towards the door. He could hear her soft tap of her as she crossed the linoleum… but she stopped just short of the door. Why wasn’t she leaving?

There was a whooshing sound, and the firm clunk of the door being shut. He didn’t have to look up to know she was still inside the room when she’d done this, but he did anyway because he couldn’t understand _why._

Slowly she spun around to face him, her expression calm and determined.

“Yesterday, Kevin told me he thought you were about to present as an Alpha. He was right, wasn’t he?”

A ghost of annoyance passed through his body at the notion that someone else had figured out what was going on in his body before he did. But with a healthy space between them, he was starting to think a little clearer, and he finally realized what was going on. 

“Yes.” He said, more confident now, “And given my reaction to _you_ , I’m guessing you’ve been keeping a secret of your own, haven’t you… _Omega_?” He looked up at her and their eyes locked for a heated moment before her gaze dropped to the floor. Her cheeks were now nearly the same shade of pink as her sweater. 

All this time he had been focused on how much her presence was affecting _him_ , he hadn’t even considered what he might be able to do to her, even with something as simple as his voice. 

“Why didn’t you leave Betty?” He asked, finally getting up from his desk. He started to walk toward her and was pleased when she made no move to back away. “If you knew what was happening to me, you must have suspected what sitting next to me would do.” Her mouth fell open as if she was about to defend herself, but no words came out. “Why did you shut the door Betty? Why did you shut yourself up, all alone, with an unmedicated Alpha?” 

“Unmedicated?” For the first time there was some worry in her voice, but it was too late. He was only a few feet from her now, close enough to smell her arousal. Lust flooded every part of his body, and before he knew it he had backed her up against the door. His arms ached with the effort it took not to touch her.

“Say it Betty, please. I need to know you want me the way I want you.”

Her mouth was still slightly open, her pupils blown wide. She was so beautiful, so perfect- if she didn’t say something soon, if his suspicions turned out to be wrong and she didn’t really want this…

But no; suddenly her arm around his neck and she was pulling him towards her. Their bodies and lips crashed together in an explosion of sensation. The animal in his chest howled in pleasure and deep within him a new set of instincts emerged, terrifying and wonderful in equal measure:

**Love her Protect her She is your destiny She Is Mate**


End file.
